


Ghost Fencer

by Dunkthebard



Category: Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Timelines, Gen, Oblivion Main Quest, Other, POV Bisexual Character, Prompt Fic, Swords
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:39:45
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 612
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26918248
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dunkthebard/pseuds/Dunkthebard
Summary: Dreyo Pevlann is a Breton fencing master on a fruitless quest to avenge his murdered father. It has been 20 years and he never found the killer. To survive along the way he began to sell his sword for coin. In his final job he killed Prince Ebel, youngest son of Uriel Septim VII, for the Mythic Dawn Cult, unknowingly advancing their plot to cover Tamriel in fire and death. He was captured and thrown into the Imperial City's prison.Then along came Uriel, and his desperate bodyguards. The future Champion of Cyrodiil is one of the Mythic Dawn's own assassins. Dreyo must wrestle with his guilt, redeem his honor, and avenge his long lost teacher.
Kudos: 5





	Ghost Fencer

The cruel echoes of the Imperial City Dungeons reminded Dreyo of home. His soul yearned for the cool wind of High Rock, so he conjured a sweet memory to warm his empty stomach.

“Left!” Father swung high and wide, cutting off young Dreyo’s confused retreat and boxing him in. Then father used his towering height to block out the sun. 

“Right!” The thin blade came across and Dreyo brought up his own blade to parry it. Then father’s weapon turned and lied, slapping Dreyo’s arm and knocking him to the floor. He was left prone and defenseless. 

Father outstretched his hand, Dreyo slapped it away. “You tricked me!”

“Did I?” Father pulled him up anyway. “Or did you not look? Close your eyes again?”

Dreyo had no reply. He hung his head. 

“Ah, so you see. I didn’t trick you, I was just testing your eyes. Trust them son, they are your most important guide when fencing.” 

“And my arm.” Dreyo nursed his bruise.

“You learn quickly, boy. Again!" 

A Dark Elf in a cell from across the way sneered loud jokes and insults, but Dreyo did not hear them. He was still imagining the rhythm and hum of honorable battle. A small beam of sunlight managed to pierce into his cell and blind his eyes. His head felt like it was about to melt and his dull-pointed ears twitched in pain. It pounded inside like a battering ram on an old city gate. 

When he finally regained his sight, his father stood before him. He was no ghost in a patch of mist. He just was an old man standing in a cell. A grey smile covered his face. 

Dreyo laughed and grimaced. “This is a trick.” 

Father sighed. “You’re a quick learner, son.”

“You are not here. You died long ago. I saw it with my own eyes.” He spit his words. 

“Trust your eyes, boy. Then and now.”

Dreyo looked away, to the empty and mold covered stone walls. “Old words on dead lips. Old teachings I no longer need. I will die from this pit, or from a headsman's axe if I'm lucky.”

“Neither. You will live.”

“Then leave me. Save the torments for later, when my mind is truly gone.”

“Another father is about to visit you, son. I pray you listen to him.”

“Another man to fail, another son to kill.” 

“Not today.”

Suddenly Dreyo realized he could no longer hear the rants of the Dark Elf. A moment later a knight in beautiful armor, with a curved and expertly made sword on her hip, appeared at the door. 

“What’s this prisoner doing here?!” She asked her comrades. 

A Redguard knight replied. “He’s no ordinary prisoner. Watch must've gotten him mixed up during all the damn chaos.”

“It doesn’t matter. Open this door, we need to get the Emperor out of here.”

Dreyo’s guilty stomach turned over. He would have vomited, but he had nothing left to lose. 

An old man, regal and tired, walked in. He was Uriel Septim VII, the Emperor of Tamriel. When he saw Dreyo, hunched in the corner, he gasped. “You… I’ve seen you.”

The Redguard spoke. “That’s the assassin that killed Prince Ebel.”

The Emperor clutched his fine silver sword. “So the stars were right, and this is the day.” 

He drew the blade and pointed it at Dreyo. He held his deadly weapon high. The knights stood back. They knew better than to intervene. _" **Gods curse me!"**_ He screamed. "They play one final trick. Has there not been enough?! Give me strength, give me strength." He dropped the sword to the floor. The doomsday clang echoed throughout the cell. 


End file.
